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Interesting batch this month! Crusader and Everybody Dies in general are a long way away from my interests; as far as the rest go, Between Nothing is a fun listen as mentioned in my write-up, and Unhallowed Earth was one I was planning to write up instead of it before Rod claimed it. Chronepsis is solid without making too much of an impression on me, and Branch Of Melas is pretty creative, albeit I can't claim to actually enjoy much of the sound. I'll probably plump for the record I was first swayed by in Unhallowed Earth.

I honestly don't know who to vote for. Love Crusader, love Between Nothing. Branch Of Melas is something else. I'm in a pickle here. Great selection guys. Really stellar.

Written by Archie 666 on 12.07.2025 at 09:51

I honestly don't know who to vote for. Love Crusader, love Between Nothing. Branch Of Melas is something else. I'm in a pickle here. Great selection guys. Really stellar.

Glad to hear! I am torn among four (!) choices.

For me, this time around the choice was easy: I really, really, really like the song Sown by Unhallowed Earth.


Overall impressions:
Crusader – yes, it all sounds familiar, and yet fresh and full of energy. The first song reminded me very much of Juke Box Hero.

Between Nothing – seemed to continue the theme of repurposing familiar motifs and/or putting them in a different context, with even more energy and exuberance than Crusader.

Chronepsis – this was the most enjoyable overall listening experience. I was surprised to find that there is only one vocalist because I definitely heard duets and different voices communicating and interacting with each other, which made the EP seem a kind of compressed opera. The guitar tones were beautiful throughout and had a vibe of „I play what I have been asked to, even though the whole world breaks down around me“. Overall it was a nice ebb and flow of chaos alternating with more familiar and to my ears baroque harmonies; all blended very nicely together.

Everybody Dies – this was the „broaden your horizon“ exercise. For the first two songs, I heard different chords, yes, but to my ears all very much like one another. With the third, there was finally some hint of emotion, a dirge-like quality (probably fitting to the title) and I could warm a little bit to this.

Unhallowed Earth – the link was set to the second song, so I listened to this first. It opened with what I consider punk-type chords/harmonies/rhythm/tempo, then came vocals which I did not find particularly impressive, and all in all it was not unpleasant but nothing special…. but about three minutes in: everything slowed down, there came a beautiful little melody and I thought oh I want to hear this again, and it was repeated with a slight variation, and then again with a little flourish at the end, and a fourth variation, and then many more repeats of this set.
Just this section, its simplicity and the repetition, the very restrained percussion and something else (highly distorted bass or guitar?) in the background appealed to me so much… it has a „hold your breath and watch it grow.. see it stumble and start again from the bottom.. .and again..“ quality, and I listened to this again and again and it hasn’t gotten boring yet.
Also, with repeated listenings I appreciated more and more nuances, and now I find the vocals very emotional and expressive, and like them, too.

Branch of Melas – in one word: weird. But interesting, and I think it would appeal more to me with different instrumentation. This one has the most entertaining write-up.

I voted for Unhallowed Earth but I cant believe how much I ended up enjoying Crusader. I rarely care for that type of music at all but these guys were convincing haha.

Branch of Melas has a great idea but needs better execution.

Crusader - 8.5

High quality traditional hard rock in the vein of Scorpions and Def Leppard, brimming with catchy choruses, hooky riffs, and exceptional leads. It's so energizing despite lacking originality, and is brimming with so much nostalgia and character. It's definitely right up my alley this one, I can't get enough of it.

Between Nothing - 7.5

I do like myself some quality melodeath from time to time and this is quite exhilarating.It's very melodic and the production is great too, the synths work very well alongside the instrumentaion and aren't overpowering in any way. It's kinda like a mix of old In Flames and Children Of Bodom, although not quite at the same level of quality as those bands, but it's certainly near enough. On a side note, I can't believe this band have been around since 2008 and have still yet to release a full-length, judging by the quality of this I suspect it won't be too long now before they do.

Chronepsis - 7.0

This is highly technical and complex and the tempo is unrelenting but it does contain a few striking melodies here and there. There's some impressive musicianship skills at work here from the rapid-fire drumming, to the ultra-shredding leads, to the diverse vocal package. I'm not blown away by the songwriting personally the performance is incredible.

Everybody Dies - 7.0

Compared to the others it's probably least to my tastes but still solid stuff and is undeniably heavy and a punishing but satisfying listen.

Unhallowed Earth - 7.5

Another promising band from Portland it seems. I wasn't entirely blown away on first listen but it's definitely a grower. It has some mighty powerful brooding build-ups and a high level of intensity which it manages to keep up throughout. The vocals have such an anguish to them as well and are ideally suited for this style of music.

Branch Of Melas - 7.5

Listening to the music as I was reading the write-up made it all the more interesting. A scout group consisting of black metallers that are sitting around a campfire jamming away on their acoustics hits the nail on the head, and you can count me in to take part if this was ever to occur. This is the pick I find most intriguing, and it's also a style I want to hear more of, so I'm going to be keeping close tabs on this band in the future, and I'd imagine they'll be a blast to see perform live.

Some very interesting picks here, and one of the best editions I've listened through yet. However, I have to pick one and the one I'm drawn to most is Crusader, I'm just a sucker for classic hard rock.